Vietnam is prioritizing the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor fields, and seeing them as the country’s strategic selection to depend on for its rapid and sustainable economic development, Vietnam's Party General Secretary and State President To Lam told a seminar attended by American AI firms and experts in New York on Sunday (local time).

The top Vietnamese official’s is on a working trip to the U.S. throughout Tuesday.

The priority for science and technology growth will help drive up supporting industries and make breakthroughs in the productivity, quality, and competitiveness of an economy, he stressed.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the Vietnam - U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership on the same day, the Vietnamese leader hinted at pushing up the cooperation in science and technology between the two nations to a new height.

“I believe that the future of Vietnam will rely on its investments in innovation and AI,” said Keith Strier, senior vice-president of global AI markets at AMD.

He also highlighted the importance of AI self-reliance for Vietnam at the seminar.

A series of suggestions and recommendations were presented at the event to help Vietnam become a key part of the global AI and semiconductor industry.

The AMD representative also pointed out some factors spurring Vietnam’s AI self-reliance, namely a workforce, an ecosystem, infrastructure, and government support.

“These factors will smooth the path for Vietnam to transform its information technology economy into an AI economy,” Strier said. “Vietnam will become an AI-based community.”

Importance in investing in human resources

On September 21, before Party General Secretary and State President To Lam's trip to the U.S., Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a decision to issue the semiconductor industry human resource development program and the national semiconductor industry growth strategy.

“It was a great stride as Vietnam introduced its semiconductor industry development strategy,” John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

“Vietnam should enrich its hi-tech workforce to fuel the strategy."

The strategy suits the global situation when AI systems are thirsty for chips, he said, stressing that to effectively tap the AI field, Vietnam should foster the semiconductor industry, with concentration on human resource training.

“A recent crisis of chips has reflected the significance of the global semiconductor supply chain,” the SIA leader said.

The SIA president told the seminar that Vietnam should consider developing an intellectual asset protection ecosystem and introducing a legal framework for semiconductor and AI growth.

Neuffer suggested Vietnam join the Information Technology Expansion (ITA 2) Agreement by the World Trade Organization so that many products of the semiconductor industry can have taxes reduced.

According to the Global Index on Responsible AI published by Canada’s International Development Research Center in June, Vietnam ranked 33rd among 138 nations and territories.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, accompanied by his spouse and an entourage, arrived in the U.S. late on Saturday afternoon last week (local time) to attend the United Nations Summit of the Future and the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79), as well as engage in other working sessions in the North American country.

The Vietnamese leader was set to attend the two-day Summit of the Future on Sunday and Monday, themed ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Future,’ and the UNGA 79, centered on ‘Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations,’ which lasts from Tuesday through Saturday.

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